Napoleon Bigarreau

Napoleon is a well-known traditional large white cherry, and a typical "bigarreau" or firm-fleshed variety. The flavour is sweet/sharp, tangier than most of the modern varieties, and of very good quality.

Also unlike the more modern cherry varieties which are typically dark red or black with dark flesh, Napoleon is usually classified as a white cherry, on account of its pale golden white flesh.

 

 

Growing and Training

As is often the case with fruit varieties, the ones with the best flavour can be the most difficult to grow. Napoleon's weak point is its susceptibility to infections of bacterial canker. You can minimise the likelihood of this happening by keeping pruning to an absolute minimum, since pruning cuts are an entry point for the disease.

On a more positive note, Napoleon is a prolific bearer, and the tree is generally very hardy. It also flowers later in the spring than most varieties, which helps the blossom escape early frosts.

The cherries ripen over a long period, allowing several pickings to be made - a particularly useful quality in cherries, which are always best when eaten straight from the tree.

Napoleon requires a pollination partner, one of the modern self-fertile varieties such as Stella or Sunburst is a good choice, or traditional varieties such as Bigarreau Gaucher, or Merton Bigarreau.

History

Despite its name, the Napoleon cherry is not French - it originates from Germany where there is a long history of cherry cultivation.

The Napoleon Bigarreau variety played a key role in the development of the first self-fertile cherry, Stella. As a result a very large number of modern cherries are descended from it.

Napoleon Bigarreau characteristics

• Gardening skillAverage
• Fruit persistenceRipens over a period
• Self-fertile?Not self-fertile
• Pollinating othersAverage
• Pick seasonEarly - early / mid July
• Picking periodlate July
• Keeping1-3 days - in a fridge
• Food usesEating fresh
• Country of originGermany
• Period of origin1750 - 1799
• Fruit colourYellow / Red

You might also like these varieties

• 
  Lapins
  A popular red mid-season cherry which is easy to grow. Self-fertile.
• 
  Stella
  Stella is perhaps the most popular mid-season red-cherry. Self-fertile and a good pollinator for other cherries.
• 
  Sunburst
  A large red mid-season cherry with a good sweet mild flavour. Self-fertile.
• 
  Sweetheart
  One of the best-flavoured late-season cherries for the UK climate. Self-fertile.

More about cherry trees

Sweet cherries are easy to grow as long as you have a sunny sheltered spot. The main challenge is to keep the birds off - use a net or horticultural fleece to cover the tree or at least some of the branches in late spring.

If you only have space for one cherry tree make sure it is a self-fertile one. We highlight these on our website - look for Stella, Sweetheart, Sunburst, or Lapins.Self-fertile cherry trees are also good pollinators for the more traditional English cherry varieties.

Sweet cherries are often categorised by colour. Red cherries have red or skins and light red flesh, and nearly all the self-fertile cherries are in this category. So-called 'white' cherries usually have pale red or pink or white skins and pale flesh. So-called 'black' cherries usually have dark red or black skins.

Sweet cherries are also categorised by their picking season. Early season equates to mid / late June in southern England. Mid-season is late June / early July. Late-season is mid-July onwards.